The Vampires' Apprentices
by It.Is.Real
Summary: Ari and Angel dared to climb Vampire Mountain. But the timing was terrible. Being humans, they didnt know about the War of the Scars. Will their ignorance get them killed?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't (unfortunately) own the Saga Of Darren Shan. I wasn't born that lucky.**

The Princes' Assistance's

Chapter 1: Getting there

After Ari and I made camp for the night, Ari slept immediately. I, on the other hand, took my time staring at the stars and thinking.  
Clare had made us promise to climb this wretched mountain. With her, it would've been fun. With Clare around, everything was brighter, funnier, nicer, warmer. You couldnt help but be in a good mood around her. She couldn't stand foul moods. She go on into a hilarious lecture about life that would have in laughter tears that the end of it. Even in her death bed, she made us laugh. Told us not to cry for her when she dies. Ari pointed out the "IF" she died. But Clare had accepted it and she wasnt going to fool herself that she was going to live. It was out of the question. The tumor had been too cancerous. Her only regret was that she wouldn't have to climb this mountain. The mountain most people stayed away from, since it was so creepy. Clare liked creepy things, just so she could laugh that it.  
She didnt like gloomy places, like that mountain. I wondered what made her want to climb it. I remembered the months it had taken to prepare for it, but in the end, it was obvious she wasnt going to make it. Even if she did start, with her fragile condition, she would freeze to death. That was one of the coldest mountain we had climbed. Because, even though Clare was not with us physically, i knew she was with us... i guess you could say....... spiritually.

* * *

".....Aaaannnngeeeeeellllllllll.... ANGEL, WAKE UP!!!!" Ari yelled.  
i bolted awake. i looked around. After i was sure nothing was wrong i turned to Ari and snapped "What?! Its only.." I looked at my watch in disbelif.  
"There's something wrong with my watch." I announced "There's nothing wrong with your watch." Ari said "Then why didnt you wake me up before?!" I said, getting to my feet.  
"I didnt have the heart to. You just looked so...angelic" Ari grinned. i snorted "Yeah, I'm as far as angelic as they can get."  
I mean, what were my parents thinking? Oh yeah, sure, i must've looked like an angel when i was, like, 1. But now, my hair was dirty blond and i was tanned. But my eyes had stayed the same. Ocean blue. But Arianna....she had black hair and was totally pale. i mean, PALE. Her eyes were a navy blue that sometimes looked black, other times blue, depending on the light.  
We packed up and started up the mountain again. I turned around to dip my hand in sand when i saw how high we were. Suddenly, i had a fear of falling. "Angel. Hurry up. I'm growing old here." Ari called. I smiled, my fear evapourating. I climbed up to her.  
"What up? Climb." i said, coming beside her.  
"Look." she said, pointed a bit to the left. There was ground, where we could stand. Infact, there was quite a bit of land. Ari looked at me.  
'We might not find another place for the night."  
We'd been climbing for about 3 hours cause it was dark. "'K. Lets go" i grunted. We made our way toward the piece of land. Easier said then done. It was inhumanly impossible to get there.  
There was no time to congratulate ourselves cause there was like a bit left. i saw a rock-the only rock that could get us there. But it was all sharp. There was noway a normal person could go through this. It was too intriguing. I had to give it a shot. I stepped on it and yelled in pain. But it was not only sharp but slippery as well. I lost my footing and the world seemed to stop. I'm going to die, flashed through my mind. I shook my head. No time for thoughts like that. I quickly looked for something to grab on. Anything. Then i saw a rock. I quickly grabbed for it and thankfully caught it. I let Arianna pull me up from there. She easily jumped, knowing the angle, blah, blah. Annoying genii.

We started a fire. I frowned at the snow.  
"What?" Ari said. I pointed at the foot prints. It was confusing because they were real footprints. Not bootprints. Foot prints, like someone had actually walked here barefoot. I laughed. The thought was ridiculous. Someone probably just took they're shoes of for a while.  
Dumbass.  
Ari rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Probably just a nutcase. Look, i found something."

I followed her toward what seemed a huge rock.

"What? Magical fungi?" i asked

"Ha ha. No. This obviously hides a passage way. If only we could move it."

"Noway, Ari. Who knows whats in there."

"Whatever _might _be there, it'll probably be dead. No oxygen can go in there." Ari argued. Always the adventurer.

"Yeah, like we'll be if we go in! Ari, please. Lets just get some rest, ok?" i said. Ari sighed.

"Fine, fine."

Somehow, i knew that wasn't the last i would hear of that.

**A/N: so? whatcha think? Review, somebody? anybody?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2, dearest readers. ;)**

**You guys have no idea how happy I was when I saw I actually had reviews!**

Chapter 2

When I woke up the next morning, I saw Ari staring at the rock. Somehow, she always got up before me, even if I got up at 5 in the morning. It was somewhat annoying.

I sleepily went by her side.

"Seriously, _what_ is your fascination with this rock?" I asked. She looked at me, her eyes looking blue.

"Someone's moved this." She informed me

"Someone very stupid."

"Not necessarily."

"Ari, why the hell do you want to move this rock?" I demanded.

"Some one moved this rock. Why? What's in there? Aren't you even a bit curious?" Ari said.

"I lost my curiosity after the after the first tunnel." I answered dryly. When we first started, there was this tunnel, all dark and closed. Ari suggested we take a look around. I foolishly agreed. We were there for 2 hours, until we came to a dead end. And wasted a whole day.

"That was different." Ari argued.

"HOW was that possibly different? This place is filled with tunnels and what not!" I snapped back

"Come on, please? Please, please, please, please? For me?" Ari begged, giving me the Bambi eyes. I felt my resistance break.

"Ugh! Fine. But, I swear if this turns out to be a dead end, I will kill you." I said. Ari's smug look was almost unbearable.

"Come on, lets get to work." I muttered

Together, we went by the rock and push. After 2 minutes we were still pushing but the rock had no moved a centimeter. But Ari, as usual, refused to give up, even if my arms were killing me. Inconsiderate git. Even after I gave up, she still tried in vain tom budge the rock. I was staring into space while Ari's scream brought me back to Earth. I saw her clutching her foot and hopping around. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"What're you smirking at? At least I'm trying, Unlike _some _people I know." She snapped. I rolled my eyes and dug my book out of my bag. _P.S. I love you._ I laughed. Of all the books, I get this one.

"ANGEL!!! Stop being such an evil bitch and HELP ME!" Ari yelled from behind me.

"Oh, for God's sake, Ari, leave it. Maybe it's not meant to be." I said

"Pkhew. _Not meant to be._ You sound like a bloody fortune cookie." She scoffed.

"Language, young one." I said as I got up.

"Ok, on three. One. Two. _Three._" At three we both pushed. We felt it move. Ari and I looked at each other with widened eyes.

"It moves." Ari whispers. I nodded

Well. Whatdya know.

**And voila! Stay tuned to find out what happens when they meet someone ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Before anything else, I would like to thank **_**Darth Vyper **_**and**_** ferretgirlsz **_**for the reviews. THANK YOU!!!!! XD. Ok. Now, back to the story.**

After the initial movement, it was easier to move. I'm not saying it was easy. Hell, it was hard. But it was not as fruitless as before. Finally, we had pushed it enough for us to pass.

"Times like these I wish Art was here." I muttered. Ari looked sharply at me then looked away and I slapped myself mentally. I knew better then to mention Arthur. But nooooooo. God, I was stupid.

"Lets go!" I said, trying to sound upbeat but the idea of exploring tunnels made me quite nervous. We packed everything and went in.

The caves are lit up. First I think it's because there are fires or something but then I realized they were the fungus that grows inside tunnels. I briefly wondered what they were called. Huh. For once, I felt that I wasn't completely wasting my time. We were walking like we were going to rob the place and when we noticed it, we burst out laughing. Our voice echoed back at us. Creepy…

"The mountain is alive….." Ari said in a creepy voice

"Oh, I'm _so _sure." I muttered back and Ari laughed again. Again the voice bounced back at us.

"This tunnel has potential. I think we'll find something here." Ari said.

"Great. Can we go now?" I grumbled. I hated being stuck. When Ari shook her head, I let out a groan.

"Bear with me." Ari said

"If I die, I'm going to kill you." I growled at her and moved forward.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

We proceeded down the tunnel when we came to a stop. We heard voices. Panic crossed my face for a second before I composed it again. I edged towards the noise.

"Its not right." I heard someone say

"This is the _Vampaneze _we're talking about. They don't care. Filthy imbeciles." Another voice said

"Watch it, Ramdon. They were once the same as you and I." The first said

Ramdon snorted.

"Yeah, before they started draining their victims."

Ari and I looked at each other with wide eyes. What the HELL was this. Just as we were backing away, Ramdon turned around. He saw us.

"OI! WAIT!!" he yelled.

So obviously, we ran like hell. But we weren't fast because he caught us both in 2 seconds flat. Maybe less. Before I knew it, we were face down, being pinned down by the two people.

"They're not Vampaneze." The first one said.

"No freaking duh, Danny. They're mere humans." Ramdon laughed

"Oh, and what are you, bloody _vampires_?" I hissed. Silence.

No…they can't be…

"We should take them to the Princes'" Danny said

And darkness takes over.

**Soooooo? Its kind of on the short side, but still. You know the drill. ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**OMG!!!!! I ACTUALLY GOT GOOD...NO…GREAT REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD, SUDDENLY MY LIFE DOESN'T SUCK AS MUCH AS IT DID!!!!!!!!!XD!!!!!!! OH GOD, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER!!! IT'S EXTRA LONG, BUT DON'T MIND THAT. I JUST SUDDENLY GOT A BRAIN STORM AND JUST HAD TO WRITE IT!!!**

**WAIT! WHY AM I WRITING IN CAPS?**

**Yeah, so…. Yeah. Ok.**

**Ok. I'm done**

When I woke up, I was lying in a hammock. It was comfy… I bolted up right. How am I in a hammock?! I'm inside a freaking mountain. The insides of mountains don't have freaking HAMMOCKS!!!

"She finally awakens…." Ari's voice said. I looked at her and she was sitting in a hammock as well.

"Well, you're an early bird." I said, irritated. She smiles innocently at me. Just then, a guy entered our…well, I guess you could call it a room. He looked around 20 and had a lot of scars.

"Hi!" Ari said cheerfully. The guy blushed, put down a tray and hurried out of the room

"Well. What do you know?"

We ate what was on the tray. I don't think I want to know what was on it. After a while another guy came inside, only this one looked more commanding.

"Follow me." He ordered and walked out the door. Ari and I looked at each other, jumped up and ran after him.

After a while, we came to a door. There was a huge man standing outside.

"State your names." He said, in a deep voice.

"Stanley Shepard, come to seek the Princes'" our captor replied

"What about these two?" the guard asked

"I wish to present them to the Princes' on Ramdon and Daniel's orders."

"Do you take responsibility for them?"

"I do."

"Their names?"

Stanley looked at us, noticing for the first time that he didn't know our names.

"Angelica Matthew." I said in a small voice.

"Arianna Black" Ari said, in a slightly stronger voice.

"The Hall recognizes Arianna Black, Angelica Matthew and Stanley Shepard." The guard said and let us through. We reached a huge cave like Hall. There were five thrones, though one seemed unused. There were two people (or whatever these _things _were). One looked ancient, with flowing white hair and wrinkles and scars. But I had no doubt he could kill me in two seconds flat if he wanted to. Beside him, standing was a man not older then 25, wearing complete and utter black. His face was covered by his hair, so we could not see his face from where we were standing. His hair was a bit on the long side but not that long. A man hurried to us and I recognized him as Danny. He smiled at us and dismissed Stanley and lead us towards the chairs.

"Hello. I am Daniel Harrington. I know you must be very curious but would you be so kind as to wait? Our Prince has brought news for us." He seemed so eager and nice, I just couldn't refuse.

"Of course not." I hear myself say

"Much of this may not make sense to you. He warned us. We sat down and waited. I spotted a boy of not more then 12 struggle through the crowd around the two "Princes'"

The dark one spotted him as well, as he raised a gloved hand to salute the young one.

"How's the cub Prince?" I heard him say.

"Not bad" the younger one replied, "What about the Vampaneze Lord? According to gossip, you know where he is."

I looked at Danny. His eyes gave nothing away. Who the HELL was this "Vampaneze" person, anyway? I paid more attention to the conversation.

"If only…" The dark one grimaced. He looked around and I heard Ari take a breath in.

"Him." She whispered.

We got a view of his face. It didn't bear as many scars as the rest. His jet black hair fell on his face. He was actually quite good-looking, even if he did…you know… look a little evil.

"Shall we assemble? I have news but I'd rather announce it to the Hall in general." He said. Everyone scurried to their seats.

"The one clad in black is Mika Ver Leth. He is a Prince, along with Darren Shan, the young one, and Paris Skyle, the extremely old one. There are two more, though they are not present." Danny told us.

Mika Ver Leth was settling in his throne.

"Its good to be back. Has Seba taking good care of my coffin?" he asked

_COFFIN??!! _Ari mouthed at me. We shared a horrified glance.

"To the Vampaneze with your coffin!" a person behind us yelled, "What news of the Vampaneze Lord?"

There they were again, those bloody, stinking _Vampaneze_! God. What the hell were they?? Or who?

Mika ran a hand through his hair.

"First, lets make it clear….I don't know where he is"

The groans of the others vibrated the ground

"But I do have word of him." Mika concluded. They perked up a little. Mika's eyes swept the Hall. I felt his cold eyes rest on me.

I saw his eyes move on to Ari. Time froze for a second as Mika and Ari looked into each others eyes. Then Ari, my strongest friend, of all the people _Ari fainted._

**Ok, so it looks like Ari and Mika have some history….or do they? Guess you'll just have to find out. ;]……so**

**COMING UP; Ari's past, Ari and Angel are put in front of the Princes'. AND **_**MR. TINY'S VISIT…..**_

_**Read and review people**_

_**Alex XD**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Sorry, for taking so long to update. Had a terrible week. AND I MEAN TERRIBLE. HOW CAN THINGS GO SO BAD IN ONE WEEK? **

'**Tis for Kuromi. ;) INDULGE YOURSELF. Even if I am against it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the bloody series. If I did, I wouldn't be here, would I?**

Ari's POV

When I awoke, the first person I saw was, typically, Angel.

"You're awake!" she said, rather loudly.

"I am now." I said, pulling myself up, "What happened?"

"You fainted." Angel said, knowing how that one sentence would embarrass the crap out of me, and smirked

I stared at her, horrified. FAINTED? I don't _faint. _It's just not my THING.

She grinned.

"Yep."

"Oh. My. Hitsugaya. Toshiro." I said, shocked.

"So…?" Angel said, waiting for an explanation.

"So." I said, buying time.

"Ari. Spill."

"Where is he anyways?" I asked

"Who, Mika? Outside, arguing with Danny."

"Yeah. Mika." I said. The name felt strange at my lips.

"Mika." Angel said, with a smile.

"Mika."

"Mika."

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. I don't know why. The name just did something to us.

"Okay, seriously, what's the deal? Why did you FAINT?" Angel asked

"I'd like to know that as well." We looked over and saw Danny standing by the door along with Darren, Mika and a scary looking guy with bright red hair.

"Angel, Ari, meet Darren Shan, Larten Crepsley and Mika Ver Leth." He introduced

"Hi. Yeah, um….sorry about earlier." I said.

"Its okay." Darren said cheerfully. He looked 12-ish, and was just so adorable. He was bald and was smiling. Crepsley's face was impassive and Mika Ver Leth looked supremely annoyed.

"Well?" Angel said, starting to look irritated as well.

"Well, you remember, 2 years ago, when I got mugged?" I said, the horrible memory coming back. Angel went white and nodded.

"_He _looks like him." I said, pointing at Mika, who looked even more annoyed.

"It's rude to point." Mika muttered.

"Um… mind telling us what happened?" Danny asked.

"Well, two years ago, I got mugged. I know its not much compared to you guys," I said, gesturing at their scars, "But it was traumatic for me. That guy looks like him" I pointed again at Mika.

"She got raped." Angel said bluntly.

The whole room went quiet and everyone turned to Mika.

"Hey! I haven't mugged anyone!" he protested

Mr. Crepsley looked pointedly at him.

"At least not in this century." Mika added. Which reminded me…

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

The four men exchanged glances. This was what they had been dreading…

**Ok, this real short, but right now, I'm in depression. So excuse this chapter. But please review, k? Thank you. **

**Also, could someone tell me Darrens age during this please? **

**Xoxo**

**Alex**


	6. AN : AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, I suppose you COULD call this an Author's Note, even though it's not from the author herself. I am…an acquaintance of Alexis, and I'm here to tell you guys that she hasn't had access to a computer in quite a while (well, not long enough to upload a new chapter, anyway) and she apologizes for not updating this fanfiction. HOWEVER! She is going to update (through yours truly) sometime this week, probably early on. That's about it. And she wants to thank everyone who reviewed. And apologize once more. GOMEN-NASAI MINNA-SAN!


	7. Chapter 6

"They're vampires." Arianna said before any of the three men or the boy could say anything.

I raised my eyebrows at her. For a moment, I thought she had lost it, that she had finally read too many books. It was true that I was as bad as her (and possibly worse because I even read the sappy romantic books) but this stuff (vampires, werewolves) only existed in our imaginations. But I was quite ready to let it become reality.

"And how can you be so sure?" Mr. Crepsley asked coolly.

"Well, let's see. There was the time when those two caught us, and we asked sarcastically if they were vampires, they didn't respond."

"Then, there was the reference to the Vampaneze. I mean, the words are way too similar to be a coincidence." I added.

"Really, if you want to keep your secret, you might want to tell your people to keep their mouths shut in the presence of humans." Ari chirped.

"Plus, now that we know this, we're both probably going to die for the greater good."

"Pity."

We seemed light-hearted but Ari and I had known each other long and well enough that whenever a subject was too painful to think about, we'd joke about it.

Mr. Crepsley and Mika had identical scowls that didn't do anything to enhance their _charming_ features. Darren was smiling while Danny wore a small frown but when he looked at us, he smiled. They all remained silent, neither confirming, nor denying what we had just said. After a few minutes of it, I couldn't take it anymore.

"So…do you guys sparkle?" I asked brightly.

Darren burst out laughing while Mr. Crepsley looked at me like I was insane. Mika was glaring at me and I smiled brightly back at him. He's just so nice. *hint hint, sarcasm* Mr. Crepsley did not understand. Anything.

"Sparkle?"

Ari shot me a look that said it all. You. Are. Nuts.

"Yeah, sparkle, you know, like Edward Cullen." I said, determined to keep the atmosphere light.

Mr. Crepsley's frown deepened. "Who?"

"You don't know Edward Cullen? What kind of a vampire are you?"

"Edward Cullen…is a vampire?"

I nodded seriously.

"And he…sparkles? Literally?" Mr. Crepsley asked, wanting to be sure.

I nodded again.

"Larten, he's a fictional character." Mika snapped.

It finally dawned on Mr. Crepsley and then his face became impassive again. "No, we do not sparkle." He said stiffly.

"Great. 'Cause seriously, they look gay." I said cheerfully.

Then Ari threw her pillow at me.

"Shut up, Angelica."

"Nyeh, nyeh, whatever, Arianna."

Just then, someone burst through the door.

"Mr. Tiny's here." He said and took off again, leaving the vampires in stunning silence. Then, without a second's delay, Danny pulled me on his back and ran. And I mean, _ran_. Jeez. 5 seconds later, we were back in the Hall of the Princes.

I stood shakily and saw Mika talking to Paris. But before he could say anything about the mysterious Mr. Tiny, a tiny man came in. Mr. Tiny. Tiny man. God, their creativity overwhelmed me.

**A/A/N:** So first of all, Alex is sorry for the long wait! And she hopes you'll like it! I don't know when she's going to update next, so I guess that's about it. Thanks for reading, and review please (constructive criticism is appreciated). Ok, um…BYE!


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